It turns out there might have been some science behind James Bond cleaning out the competition on the poker table in the 2006 film Casino Royale. A study released by the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia has determined that there is a big link between good looks and financial risk. According to the research, men are more likely to take financial risks when they perceive that their same-sex competition is more attractive than them, with even greater risks if they perceive that the man earns more money. But when the men in the study were presented with images of attractive women, they took normal financial risks. Women in the study were virtually unaffected.
Focus Financial Partners has expanded across the border, adding its first Canadian firm on Monday. Montreal-based Dorchester Wealth Management has $675 million (U.S.) in assets and nine advisors. The firm is registered with both Canadian securities regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. “Focus brings greater resources and expertise in certain aspects of our business while still allowing us to maintain our boutique client service environment and investment excellence,” says Robert Bard, president of the 87-year-old firm.
FINRA awarded New Jersey day trader Frank Cerisano Jr. a record $2.4 million in damages from Interactive Broker for posting an incorrect date that led to a botched trade in VIX futures. The award is only a fraction of the $22.7 million Cerisano lost. If his order had been executed on the futures' expiration date posted on the website, Cerisano would have made $2.5 million in profit. Instead, the expiration date was one day later. Last month, IB had to pay a hedge fund $667,000 after a FINRA arbitration panel found that losses were caused by IB’s systems malfunctioning.
Eight-six percent of Americans say they’re stressed out about their finances, according to a recent survey by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. But what do they do about it? Only about a quarter (27 percent) say that having a financial plan is the best way to reduce the stress. Two out of ten (22 percent) say the answer is having more knowledge about financial matters while one in ten (12 percent) say the best remedy would come from having more time to focus on finances.
